DATE-TAMARIND MEETHI CHUTNEY

Sweet date-tamarind chutney is a must have dip or stir-in mix for many Indian snacks. Traditionally, sweet chutney is prepared just with jiggery, however these days dates have also been added to get the sweetness and the texture.  These chaat chutneys are indispensible chaat chutneys. Once you make them ahead and have them ready in your fridge, chaat making will be a breeze. The sweet chutney especially keeps for week together and I love the perky sweet tart note it adds to chaats, I keep the chutneys refrigerated at all times and specially this sweet date-tamarind chutney as my daughters love it like anything else. You can adjust the consistency as desired before using the chutney. These chutneys would be the basic building blocks for most chaats. So if you are planning a party, you can quite easily make this ahead of time and create a chaat platter… pani puri, papdi chaat, aloo chole tikki, etc. Think about it ….mmmm…don’t blame me if your mouth is watering.

 INGREDIENTS:

½ Cup Seedless Tamarind [Imli, Chinch]

½ Cup Seedless Dates [Khajoor]

½ Cup Jaggery [Gud]

½ teaspoon Cumin Powder

1 teaspoon Coriander Powder

½ teaspoon Garam Masala [optional]

3 Cups hot water

 Salt

METHOD:

STEP 1 – Soak the dates and tamarind in 3 cups of water for ½ an hour.

STEP 2 – Now cook them together over low flame for about 10-15 minutes or until dates become soft and tender.

STEP 3 – Turn off the flame and remove the pan and let the mixture cool for 10 minutes.

STEP 4 - Transfer the tamarind and dates mixture with water in a bowl with strainer. Strain the puree through the strainer using the backside of the ladle or spoon.  Discard any residue and transfer the fine paste to the same sauce pan.

STEP 5 – Add grated jiggery to it and mix well till dissolved.

STEP 6 – Again cook it for 4-5 minutes on medium flame.

STEP 7 – Turn off the flame and add red chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder and salt to it and give a nice stir. [see notes]

STEP 8 – Store it in an air tight container for further use.   You can use it upto 1 month when stored in refrigerator.

Serve it with any chaat like bhel puri, sev usal, ragda pattice, dahi vada, etc and make it more delicious.

NOTES: *Here I used black slat [kale meeth] instead of regular salt for my recipe.

               *You can add the tempering to the chutney if you wish. Make it with oil, cumin seeds, green chillies, ginger- garlic paste and sesame seeds. But this can be done only when you are going to use the chutney immediately after making it. If you are going to store prefer without tempering.